Retail's a Bitch
by Venaira
Summary: Jade and Tori are starcrossed lovers in the wonderful world of retail. The catch? Tori has a boyfriend. (Don't worry, you never really see him) Rated M for a sex scene I have a few chapters in. This was written ages ago and is slowly being returned to.
1. Chapter 1

Screams of terror filled the air, voices begging for mercy, for their lives to be spared cut through the previous silence. The room was dark save for the flashes of light from the movie playing. Sprawled across a dark purple bed set was a young, irate woman. Her foot bobbed as she watched the screen, the rapid motion not unlike the flicking of an angry feline's tail. Despite her favorite movie playing before her, Jade remained angry with her situation, her coworkers, and most of all, herself. Jade West was not one to fawn over someone, least of all someone so disgustingly cheerful. One person at her place of work had wormed her way into a new category that was neither indifference nor utter hatred. It was edging closer to the latter, however, as the brunette's remark lingered in her head.

_Don't get her started. _

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Jade shook her head, finding only more annoyance building. If she wanted to share the incompetence of their coworker with other employees, what did it matter? More importantly, why was she here missing a perfectly good movie just because of some offhand, joking comment from an insignificant girl? Tori was to blame for all of this mess. Ever since Jade's start in the oh-so-wondrous world of retail, the brunette girl had haunted her mind. She was too happy, too nauseatingly sweet. Every time the brown-eyed girl looked at her, she could practically feel her thoughts stutter. To make matters even better, there had been the offhanded mention of a boyfriend earlier that day. After two months of never speaking of him, Vega mentioned her boyfriend in that his grandmother had given her a free pass for a movie that night.

Dignity already wounded by admitting to herself that she was smitten by the girl, Jade picked up her phone, skimming through social media searches until the girl popped up. Green eyes checked the time, silently deciding it was in fact late enough to send a message. Her thumbs pointedly slowly spelled out the message simply asking how the movie was, and pressed send. Then she waited.

It took exactly two murder scenes for her phone to light up and briefly blind her, signaling a reply and that automatic brightness needed to be disabled. She actually paused the movie for this, unlocking the device and opening the message, only to be inexplicably disappointed.

_"It was actually really great!"_

Well, it wasn't as though the question gave Tori all that much else to say, but Jade had hoped for something more…interesting. She resumed the movie as she typed out a reply.

"That's good. The last movie I saw was when my friend made me see that kid movie that came out last month."

After that message, the replies seemed to come almost instantly.

_"I wish people made me go see movies with them. Haha." _

It was sickening how Jade could practically hear her laugh simply from reading that message.

"If you want, next time I'm forced to go see a movie, I'll make you come along."

_"Deal! :)"_

Jade nearly sent her closest-and practically only-friend a message to see when the next movie she wanted to see came out, but she refrained, instead simply telling Tori to have a goodnight before setting the phone aside. Her chin rested on her pillow, brow furrowing at the dilemma she was left with as she watched her movie. A month and a half of being stuck in a department she wasn't hired for made her ready to look elsewhere for a job, but she didn't quite want to stop having the opportunity to see Tori, nor did she want to give up that satisfactory above minimum wage hourly rate. Nagging the management wasn't getting her anywhere, and some of the people she worked with were alright, but she could only last so long before she utterly destroyed someone as a result of the fury the stress filled her with. Silently, she resolved to give it two more weeks before going over the store manager's head and just trying her luck with the corporate office.

The movie ended soon enough, though it always seemed to end too soon for her liking, and Jade was left to send Cat a message that they should go to the movies again sometime soon, offering no explanation as she prepared herself for bed, and the ritual of pretending she would get more than a half hour of sleep before she went in to work just over twelve hours from now. After some consideration, she dug around her bedside drawer for a sleeping tablet and took it, the powdery taste sticking to her tongue and the inside of her mouth as she curled herself against the wall and waited for sleep to come.

The dark, cruel part of her mind entertained the idea of having a certain coworker in the bed with her. It had been a few years since her last serious relationship, and even then she wasn't overly fond of sharing a bed with him. Yet now, she silently craved the warmth of a girl she barely knew, and perhaps the worst part was that she didn't even want to taint her yet with darker temptations. Jade certainly wouldn't protest pressing her teeth against a tan pulse point and dragging her nails over soft skin, but those thoughts hardly crossed her mind, and she was left with the nagging realization that perhaps after high school, she was going soft now. A grumble fell from her lips; she didn't have the energy for this kind of nonsensical thinking right now. The sounds of the rain and passing cars outside eventually lulled her to a fitful slumber, and Tori dared not dwell in her dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Fridays were slow, tedious days, made only worse by agreeing to work register the whole shift. Jade was left with ample time to pine over the brunette only a few yards away, doing equally no work and just trying to look somewhat busy. She had again extended her two-week period of waiting to be in her own department to the following weeks, having spent two and a half months in the store with no success. The only small victory was in finally receiving a nametag claiming she was in the department she had been hired for.

"It's so dead in here. Come keep me company."

Jade turned her attention to Tori, contemplating it briefly. There were no customers remotely near the register, if any were even in the store, which only helped the decision to cooperate and oblige.

"I love when it's like this because I get to listen to music as long as I keep it quiet," Tori gestured to her phone, where a music video was playing. Jade silently, begrudgingly admitted that she didn't hate the song, simply nodding at the other girl's question of if she listened to a particular station on the radio.

"So, what do you have to do today?" Jade rested her elbows on the desk holding the computer and a few shelves as she watched the now seated girl.

"Just print out a banner and get a couple orders ready. It's boring though. I forgot how quiet things could be when you're closing."

Jade snorted at that, shaking her head, "Only on Fridays, I assure you." She looked around a bit, eyeing the usual department clutter as she tried to quiet her thoughts. Her heart had sped up a little at this opportunity, and she was left questioning exactly how long it had been since she had a crush on someone. The movie theater came unbidden to her mind, and she kept her disappointment to herself that there weren't any good films coming out soon. Sadly, the brief daydream of one day curling up with her to watch a movie was put an end to by the remembrance of her boyfriend. A scowl curled her lips, and her boots pressed into the carpet as she wandered the relatively small department, letting the girl do her work.

Why did she need to develop feelings for this girl? When even had she? She shook her head slightly, fingers raking through her black hair as she tried to sort things out. As her mind searched for anywhere but her feelings to focus, she heard the quiet singing accompanying the music playing. Green eyes found Tori again, and she returned to the desk, hip leaning against it as she begrudgingly uttered a compliment, "You sound better than half the people on the radio." She took delight in the flush that graced the other girl's cheeks, smirking as she watched her.

"Thank you," it took Tori a few seconds to respond, avoiding eye contact. "I used to want to be a singer. In another life, I'd still like to, but now it's just a dream."

Jade watched her, silent for a few long seconds as she mulled over this information. "Is that something you believe in?"

Finally, Tori made eye contact, "What do you mean?"

"Other lives. Do you think that we get another chance after this? That we've had chances before this and just don't remember?" Jade's skin prickled, her hands uncomfortably warm as she held the girl's gaze for a moment before turning and circling the little work desk.

"Maybe when we die we remember. Anything is possible, right?" Tori offered as she returned to her work. "Sometimes I think about that when I can't sleep."

Their conversation ended after that, neither quite sure what more to say, and Jade broke the silence after her thirteenth lap around the contained department with a question that was needling her brain.

"How long have you and your boyfriend been together?"

Tori hardly took a second to reply, "About five or so years now, but, we've broken up a few times."

"That's a long time to be with someone," Jade observed, feeling her hope sink even lower than she had thought possible.

"I honestly don't see it progressing to another level… He takes me for granted all the time, and we both know it, but I always feel so guilty after we break up when I see how upset he is." Tori shook her head, frowning slightly but lifting her shoulder. "I mean he's a sweet guy, but when he changes his act, it's only for two or three weeks before he's back to how he was."

"That's a shame," Jade's voice was nearly flat, and her annoyance had her seeking an escape route that came in the form of a customer approaching the registers. Without so much as a murmured excuse, the taller girl was off through the swinging half-door and getting behind her own counter.

The customer seemed to pick up on her irritation, making a comment under their breath but otherwise not trying to strike up a conversation. It wasn't until Jade was handing the customer their change and receipt that she noticed her hands were actually trembling with her fury. In that moment, it didn't matter that she wasn't a good match for Tori, or that her self-destructive tendencies and inner demons would likely bring others down after a few weeks. What mattered was that she couldn't fathom how someone could take the girl for granted, especially when after only knowing her two months, she was only growing more and more smitten. In that moment, Jade's hatred found a new target, and she found that she was able to keep herself occupied for a good hour before she was even remotely close to calm enough to return to the print department and the oblivious girl.

"Hey Jade," Tori offered in greeting with a smile, now finished with her previous task and just trimming some fliers for a customer.

"Having fun yet?" Jade sounded less than enthused as she rested her chin in her hands and observed her companion.

"No," Tori chuckled, shaking her head. "Someone called three different times to ask the exact same question about business cards."

"Of course," Jade rolled her eyes, head tilting at a thought. "Speaking of business cards… If I were to have need for them, how terrible are the prices?"

"We have a deal going on that if you select a certain option, you can get five hundred of them for around ten dollars." The other girl sounded intrigued and genuinely interested now. "Do you have an idea of how you'd want them to look?" She waited patiently as Jade took out her wallet and removed the card before passing it over. Tori examined the card, "This is pretty awesome," she commented as she flipped it over.

"That one's actually for the guy I've gone to for some of my tattoos. He wanted me to try and get the word out about his grand opening."

Tori nodded slowly, hardly seeming to notice that she held Jade's full attention, "That's pretty cool. When does he open his shop?"

"Unofficially, a couple months ago. They've still been finalizing things, but, he's having his grand opening in a couple of weeks. He wants to give out a couple gift certificates and stuff to celebrate."

"That sounds great. You should let me know when he's having it." Tori wrote something down and left it with the green-eyed girl before taking the card and heading over to one of her various machines. Jade looked down at the sticky note, finding herself presented with a phone number. The smallest of smiles found her features, and she folded the note and put it in her pocket before her gaze found the object of her affection again.

Jade sprawled out across the comforter on her bed once again, finding herself spending more and more time there as of late as reality sunk in and drew the cold line between her reality of a part time job and the dreams of writing scripts for horror movies that would make people squirm. On the floor, a mess of blankets and pillows hid Cat from sight, but the muffled giggles were a near constant reminder of her presence. Jade had hoped that some company would make her less melancholy, but the cheerful girl was only worsening her mood. As usual, it was because the redhead was so cheerful, yet this time it wasn't because Jade found it annoying. She was almost jealous of the lump under the blankets, finding Cat just a reminder that her own mood was never very far above content and even that was rare. Part of her almost resented Cat for keeping her around, but she kept that to herself, knowing the other girl would just get upset and worry and go on a tangent.

"Jade!" The pile on the floor practically exploded as Cat jumped up suddenly, sending a few throw pillows flying. "Guess what!"

A pierced eyebrow arched, the still lying down girl watching her companion warily, "Yes?"

"There's a posting about the grand opening," Cat grinned at her, very clearly excited. "We need to go!"

Jade felt her stomach sink a bit at the news, "When is it? You're sure you can come and that you don't have to work?" Of course, Jade would still go, she was happy for the artist and wanted to show her support, but she wasn't sure that she still wanted to even try getting Tori involved. A week of feeling like shit made it seem pointless to even try the girl.

"Yeah! It's the Thursday after next, that gives me enough time to request it off. Plus, I really want to talk to the artist he's been working with about the possibility of an apprenticeship."

"I still can't believe you actually have tattoos, let alone want to be a tattoo artist," Jade watched her, chin resting on her folded arms.

"Well, like you said, the pain wasn't as bad as I thought it would be for the most part and look how happy tattoos make people," the redhead gave her a smile and flopped onto the bed. "Are you going to tell Tori that we know the day now?"

A simple shrug met the question, and Cat pouted, nudging her childhood friend. "Why not?"

"Because what if she just invites her boyfriend along? Even if she doesn't, hanging out with her is just going to be me setting myself up for failure, and it's not like I can just look at her and say 'Hey, I have a crush on you, so even though it would be nice to hang out with you, can we just never talk until I get the fuck over it?' I'm going to inevitably end up telling her when it is, but, I'm not even seeing the point anymore."

"Because you said you would let her know. Besides, I doubt she'd just invite her boyfriend along, and it'll give you the chance to talk to her. If she's only staying with him because she feels bad when she leaves him, then, she shouldn't be with him." Cat nonchalantly picked up the other girl's phone, scrolling through the contacts, "If she can see that and work past it, maybe you have a chance. I'm not saying you should force them apart, but it doesn't sound like she's that happy with how things are. Why isn't she in your phone?"

Jade took her cellular device back with a disapproving look, "I wasn't going to use her number for something other than what she gave me it for." She dug around a few pairs of pants for the note with the phone number, "We don't even know if she likes girls. Even if she somehow does and something were to happen between us, what's to say she's not going to just think I was just trying to convince her to leave her boyfriend so I could get closer to her without being guilty?"

Cat frowned in thought as she watched Jade type out a text once she found the number. As she mused it over, she looked to her own phone, leaving the page that displayed the information about the grand opening after saving the address. She found the search bar and began looking for Tori, "Well, if she's happy with him, she isn't going to leave him. If she isn't happy, then it's not like you're going to be trying to hop into bed with her. You move slow in relationships, it took how many dates before you and Beck were exclusive, and that could work for you. Either way, I don't think she'd just jump to that conclusion."

"Maybe…" Jade nodded slowly, seeing the reasoning in that. Her phone took her attention when it vibrated in her hands, and she looked down to find a reply already waiting.

_"Great, as long as I have the day off, I'd love to go!"_

Jade exhaled a huff, not quite disappointed since she couldn't blame the other girl for not volunteering to request the day off when she didn't know the artist yet, but with how excited she had been, Jade somehow envisioned more of a definite. Well, at least it didn't seem very common that Tori worked on Thursdays, and even if she did, Cat would be there so it wasn't like Jade would be completely alone. She checked the details of the opening on the page created for it, finding a new question presented that she needed to ask Tori.

"Are you 21? Just because it's being held at a bar and there's going to be free beer and some food, and I don't know if they're going to want everyone legal or just maintain tabs on who's drinking and who isn't. And, well, a lot of people we work with are couple years younger than I thought and I don't want to just assume."

_"I totally understand. No worries, I'm 21 :p Not really one for beer, but I'm open to trying what they have available."_

"Great. Well, let me know if you'll be able to come. I'll let you be for the night." Jade pressed send and set her phone aside, picking at her nails as she mulled it all over. Her thoughts were interrupted by Cat hitting her arm suddenly.

Before she could even glare at the girl, Cat was speaking with a satisfied grin, "Her profile says she likes both, Jade."

"That doesn't mean she'd like _me_, Cat."

"Sure she would," the redhead gave her a smile and left the bed to put a movie on, "what kind of delivery food do you want tonight?"

"Just pick where you want and I'll find something," Jade murmured, glancing at her phone when it lit up with a final message.

_"Goodnight Jade"_


	3. Chapter 3

Jade internally grumbled as she felt a foot nudge her ankle. Outwardly, she turned her gaze to the redhead beside her. Cat was still wrapped in conversation with one of the tattoo artists celebrating that night. It wasn't hard to figure out why they were getting along so well, the woman was nearly as cheerful as Cat was, and the lilac-colored hair helped draw Cat in. Professionally, the artist was a genius, and had already taken a serious eye to some of the redhead's work and showed interest in her potential. Now, however, the two were just feeding off the room's excitement.

"So you'd really be open to taking her on as an apprentice?" Jade broke her silence, idly mixing the drink that sat in front of her as two pairs of eyes turned on her.

Cat gave her a look, a bit embarrassed at how bluntly it had been brought up, but Vanessa didn't seem to mind one bit, "Yeah. I'll have to talk to Rick about it, since it's his place, but he's not going to mind." Her attention returned to Cat, "Here, I'll take your number now and tomorrow we'll start working on what you need to start doing." She mirrored the grin the younger woman gave her and looked down at the binder on the table again.

Jade watched the duo, impressed at how smoothly things had gone in addition to the work in the binder that was being gone over again. She took a long sip of the drink, ice crystals melting on her tongue and the flavor of peach pacifying her for now as she checked her phone again. The apology from an hour prior was all that greeted her, and before she could lock the phone again, it was plucked from her hand. A scowl tugged at her lips, and she turned in time to see Vanessa excuse herself from the table to speak with another group.

"Awh, Tori's sick?" Cat paid her irritation no mind as she skimmed through the most recent messages. "You should go take her soup!"

"Cat I've never even been to her house, I'm not going to invite myself over just to give her food and leave." Jade snatched her phone back and tucked it safely inside her pocket.

"Maybe not but you know her address from when we were trying to figure out what time everyone would need to be ready by. And you can take her food and stay with her to see if she needs anything. Come on, I'll drive," Cat left no room for argument, pulling Jade from her seat as the other girl tried to finish her drink first. "Come on, you already had one."

"Hang on, besides it's not like you can even taste the alcohol," Jade resisted leaving, but to no avail as Cat's mind was set. "I could probably even drive if need be."

"I'm driving. You wouldn't follow through with going there if I were to let you drive."

"I don't want to," there was a slight whine to Jade's protest as she opened the car door and got in.

"Someone should be there taking care of her," Cat said firmly as she started the car and put the address in her phone's navigation system.

For the duration of the ride, Jade sulked in silence, her leg bouncing as her nerves built up. Sure, perhaps friends brought each other soup to make them feel better all the time, maybe she'd even done it for Cat before, but this just felt different. Not only that, it _was_ different. What made it worse was if she hung around there, staying somehow made it more intimate, something her boyfriend should be doing. Her nails dug into her palm, thoughts mocking how useless the girl's boyfriend must be if he couldn't even manage to be looking after her. In her anger at his existence, she didn't even take notice that they had stopped outside a small diner. She only was pulled from her thoughts when she found herself compliantly holding the container of hot soup passed to her as Cat got back in the car.

All too soon, they were pulling to a stop outside of a nice home, and Jade reluctantly opened her door.

"Let me know how things go," Cat gave her an encouraging smile, earning a simple nod as Jade got out of the car.

She closed the door, counting each step from the car to the front door, dread building with each of the twelve steps she took. Long moments passed as Jade simply stared at the door, trying to figure out how to explain herself. The ability to plan was taken from her, however, as the door swung open and a girl a few years older than herself nearly walked into her.

"Can I help you?" The young woman's tone was rather rude, and Jade had to fight to sound neutral instead of giving attitude right back.

"Is Tori home? I dropped by to give her something." Jade kept her voice even, holding the other woman's gaze.

"Upstairs," was all she got in answer as the woman swept past her, leaving the door open.

Jade stepped inside, taking it upon herself to close the door behind her. Looking around, she was met with a large, but tidy living room with a couch in the center not far from the television. The home was silent as she took everything in, looking around for the stairs and procrastinating finding Tori. Her steps were pointedly slow as she moved to the stairs, making her way up them and taking in the pictures on the wall. The family seemed happy enough, and there was certainly no lack of framed pictures. Internally, Jade groaned when the top of the stairs left her in a hallway with six doors. The farthest door was open, revealing that it was the bathroom. No other doors were open, and she slowly started down the hall, straining her ears for any hint of which room might be the one she was looking for.

It was faint at first, the occasional muffled sound that could be a television, but it grew into a coughing fit quieted by wall and door. Jade made her way to the door it seemed to be coming from, tentatively knocking on it.

"The keys are where you left them, Trina," Tori's familiar voice sounded almost annoyed, which in turn made Jade smirk.

She opened the door, inviting herself into the room and stepping over a pair of jeans sprawled on the floor. "Try again," she nudged the door closed with her foot before walking over to block Tori's view of the show playing. "Brought you something."

Tori's eyes widened, and she scrambled to push herself into a seated position, keeping the blankets close to her, "Jade! What are you doing here? Wait, is that for me?"

Jade simply passed the container over, "Spoon is taped to the side. Figured something hot might help your throat." She nearly melted at the smile the other girl gave her as Tori opened the container.

"Thank you, you can have a seat if you want," Tori nodded to the free corner of the bed, against the wall. She gave Jade another smile as the girl took the invitation and sat down. "How was the opening?"

"Nothing too eventful, but it got crowded fast. How have you been doing?" Jade relaxed against the wall, watching her host eat.

"I took a nap and felt a little better but still horrible," Tori shook her head, a grimace appearing when she swallowed a spoonful of the soup.

"Well. Since I'm here, is there anything I can do?" Jade offered even as she made herself more comfortable, not too eager to get back up.

"Would you pass me that blanket? I'm so cold."

The little pout reigned Jade in, making her stretch to grab the blanket and unfold it to spread over the other girl on top of the other blankets. "There, better?"

"For now," Tori gave her a sweet smile and went back to her soup, "feel free to change the channel, the noise just helped me sleep. I can never find anything to watch anyway."

Jade leaned over, painfully aware of how close to Tori she was as she bypassed the remote entirely, picking up a controller for the game console beside the television and turning it on. With a few wrong attempts, she found the proper channel for the television to get the console's display showing. Leaving Tori in the dark about what she was doing, she downloaded Netflix, entering her password before bringing up the selection and dropping the controller in Tori's lap unceremoniously. "Find something you like."

"I think I'm in love," Tori sounded almost reverent, oblivious to the heat that rose to Jade's cheeks and chest. She slowly sorted her way through the selection now opened up to her. "Seriously, Robbie never even lets me log into his account. Usually we watch stuff at his place, but," she trailed off as she read the descriptions of a few different titles that caught her eye, leaving Jade to brood over the mention of him.

"Well, he needs learn who his superior is," Jade snorted in response, having no problem implying that she was the better choice in more ways than one. Tori only laughed, however, oblivious to the undertones of Jade's remark.

"I can't pick, there are so many options. You pick something, it's your account and I might fall asleep again anyway," Tori passed the remote back before dissolving into another coughing fit that earned her a concerned look.

Jade passed the girl a bottle of water from the nearby desk, and selected a simple enough cartoon, one that would amuse without being obnoxious or offensive.

"I didn't peg you as the Bob's Burgers type, wife." Oh. So Tori had in fact been somewhat serious about that little joke at work, or at least serious enough to take a jokingly referred to fake marriage to their personal lives. The girl didn't seem to notice Jade bristle at the teasing.

"There's much about me you don't know, _dear_," was all Jade shot back as she settled in and let the first episode play.

In the span of two episodes, Tori was earning more and more pity simply by trying to function. She was soon restricted to staying in bed, as Jade had revoked her 'moving privileges' unless she had to leave the room. Jade had made multiple trips downstairs for cough drops, making tea, finding more tissues, and other miscellaneous tasks. As time passed, she learned that simply rubbing the shorter girl's back during the coughing fits that racked her frame seemed to help enough while being appreciated. It was when the owner of the room dozed off, lulled to sleep by the murmur of the television and the exhaustion of being sick, that Jade found Tori cuddling up to her for extra warmth. Silently, she contemplated the options this left her with, weighing her choices. Slowly, she allowed herself to relax against the other girl, keeping an eye on her and refraining from too much contact.

Tori looked peaceful as she slept, her features smooth and relaxed. Jade didn't make any effort to wake her, letting her get the much-needed rest as she mused over the idle talk they'd had. It seemed simple enough to allow the 'what if's to make her mind wander, to taunt her with the idea of hope that the easy chemistry between them could ever actually be something. Jade took her phone out, going to Tori's profile and scanning for the name Robbie.

It wasn't hard to find his profile, and her stomach churned the more she scrolled through. Slowly, carefully, she separated herself from Tori and stood up, waking the other girl despite her care not to. Unfortunately for Jade, a drowsy Tori was downright adorable, and made it difficult to keep the resolve to head out.

"Where are you going?" The words were drugged with sleep, and Jade smoothed the blankets over her.

"I was going to head home."

"But…you're so warm."

With a soft sigh, Jade sat back down, idly running her fingers through brunette tresses as she coaxed the other girl back to sleep. She took her phone back out, sending Cat a message.

"I found her boyfriend's profile."

It took a little bit for Cat to reply, but the message came nonetheless. "_Oh? What's he like_?"

"He's a fucking nerd and his girlfriend is cuddled up to me."

_"Awwww that's so sweet! And what's wrong with him being a nerd?"_

"Literally every picture of him from high school until now, including his profile picture has him with his hand up a puppet's ass. What the hell does he possibly have that I don't?"

"_A puppet, obviously."_

"Cat. That is far from a good thing. He never even mentions her on the page, and shouldn't he be the one here with her?"

"_Jade, she clearly isn't protesting that it's you there instead of him. Just live in the moment for now."_

Their conversation ended there, and Jade was left to the hum of the television as Netflix continued on in the background. As time passed, the warmth from Tori's body heat mingling with her own made her drowsy, and she allowed herself to rest her eyes for a few long moments. Internally, begrudgingly, she admitted to herself that this was nice.

Tori's cough made Jade jolt awake, the sound harsh discordance from the peaceful near-silence that had settled over them. Jade nudged the other girl, asking if she was alright as she searched for the bottle of water to offer her. Tori only nodded, covering her mouth until the coughing subsided. She accepted the bottle of water, taking a small sip before taking in her surroundings and checking the time.

"It's getting late. You've been here for hours and I haven't even heard from Robbie today since I told him I was sick." Tori shook her head and wiped at her nose again. "Thank you for the soup, and for keeping me company."

"No problem," Jade murmured, shaking her head. "Mind if I just crash here tonight? Cat doesn't like driving at night and she dropped me off. She'll pick me up in the morning."

"As long as you don't mind potentially getting sick. Hopefully you won't, but I mean, you've been exposed this long."

"I'll be fine. Go back to sleep, you need some rest," Jade gave her a gentle nudge.

Tori shook her head in response, "Can't breathe through my nose enough." She watched Jade get up and leave the room, curious until she faintly heard the tub being filled with water. She pushed herself to sit up, checking her phone again with a tiny sigh at the result. She pulled the blankets closer, and the unbidden question entered her mind as to if they smelled like Jade. She pushed the thought away as she heard the girl in question come back, and she looked up to meet green eyes.

"Go take a soak, the steam will help you feel better," Jade instructed, watching Tori stand up and try to stay balanced. She escorted the other girl to the bathroom, not wanting her to fall on the way there, and slunk back to Tori's room alone.

Only maybe twenty minutes had passed before Tori returned to the room, and Jade arched an eyebrow at her for an explanation. Tori held her hands up in mock surrender and got under the blankets, "I got lonely and I just want to curl up in bed."

Jade relented, surprised when the girl nestled right up to her again. The pair had barely selected and started a movie before cold medicine took its toll on Tori and she was drowsy again. Her eyelashes fluttered as she fought to keep her eyes open, trying to keep up their idle conversation as she snuggled into the warmth beside her.

"Tell me something no one else knows about you," Tori requested as she found she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

"When you prove you're different from everyone else," Jade murmured in response, playing with long hair until sleep overtook Tori completely.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been Cat's idea. In the car, when Jade had reluctantly admitted to a night of cuddling a sickly Tori, the redhead had immediately suggested the movies for the three of the when Tori was feeling better. Unfortunately for Jade, who still needed to process her own thoughts about whatever was between them and how the other girl thought of it, Tori was all for the idea when Cat suggested it to her.

Really, it was Cat's fault that her fingers shook slightly inside her pockets as the three of them walked inside, two weeks later. It wasn't really Cat's fault that Jade had brazenly rested her fingers on Tori's knee as she drove, making a comment about cold hands, but Jade was willing to let Cat take the blame for that in her mind. It was Cat's fault that she was paying to see a movie that would be on dvd in a few weeks, likely for a cheaper price than the ticket and a snack combined. It was also Cat's fault that they wasted a good half hour in the arcade, fooling around with the games. Jade filed away for future reference that watching Tori and Cat play air hockey was hilarious and to perhaps record it next time.

"Hey Jade, I bet you can't beat the high score on that game." It was most definitely Cat's fault when Jade swung her leg over the plastic motorcycle and slid a token into the game.

"Give me an actual challenge, Cat."

She could practically hear the Cheshire Cat grin in the words that answered her, "Kay kay, beat the high score with a passenger." Before Jade could really process the oddness of the challenge given to her, she felt a soft body against her back. She assumed it was Cat, and opened her mouth to unleash a witty comment, but the words died in her throat as arms wrapped around her waist and Tori's perfume tickled her nose.

Her mouth went dry and she nearly missed her chance to select the race she wanted on the game, the choppy motion earning a giggle by her right ear. Jade's knuckles were bone white as she gripped the handle to stop them from shaking, and she tried hard to focus on the game in front of her. The game really wasn't difficult, but the feeling of Tori against her, leaning with her each time she needed to turn made her thoughts hazy, her skin too hot. She nearly felt claustrophobic as her heart hammered in her chest, relentless and mocking.

The distraction ultimately provided too much, and Jade agreed with an almost forced chuckle to pay for Cat's candy for losing their little bet. She locked eyes with Cat, wondering if her friend had noticed when Tori seemed to linger before being the first to get off the plastic. Jade looked back to the screen, allowing the solitude to calm her for a moment before she stood and left the game to suggest her companions compete on another, avoiding Cat's knowing smile.

Jade's eyes lingered perhaps too long when Tori really got into a game, but if the girl caught her, she only offered up a sweet smile before looking immediately back to the task at hand. In the end, it was Jade who had to drag the pair away so they had the time to actually get their food before the movie started. While Jade could blame Cat for many things that had happened, especially the total she was given for her and Cat's snacks, she couldn't blame her best friend for what happened next.

"Hey babe." The voice was easy enough to ignore, masculine but a bit too upbeat for the average male. They weren't exactly alone in the lobby, she waved it off as the start of some random couple's conversation.

"Robbie! What are you doing here?" Tori's voice killed her. Jade wasn't sure what was worse, his very presence, or the lack of displeasure in her voice when she saw him.

"They let me out of work early because we were slow, I figured I'd come surprise you," Robbie grinned at her, leaning down slightly for an almost chaste kiss in greeting as Jade turned her back on them.

She forced their voices into background noise as she mumbled out a thank you to the boy handing her their drinks, passing one to Cat and avoiding the disgustingly sympathetic look she was receiving from her. "Not to break up your reunion over here, but we should go find seats if the place is going to be crowded."

"We have time, there's a good hour of previews anyway," Robbie laughed, and Jade ignored him apart from rolling her eyes.

Cat dutifully kept by her side when she started walking, and the couple trailed behind them like semi-obedient puppies. She tried to catch Jade's eye, but the other girl was having none of it, leaving her to look elsewhere, trying to distract herself by searching for the number of the theater they needed to be in. She nudged Jade and nodded to the correct one, following the taller girl in and reluctantly holding the door for the two behind them, offering a slight smile.

Jade sat as far from the pair as she could get, which was unfortunately only on the other side of Cat. The redhead tried to whisper an apology, but Jade shut it down immediately.

"This isn't your fault. Let's just watch the movie."

Jade's skin was on fire throughout the film, and she had to force herself to pick at the popcorn she bought despite her churning stomach. What nagged at her the most was that she could still smell Tori's perfume, still feel her pressed against her back. Her nails bit into her palm, and it was a constant struggle to pay attention to the movie. Her eyes pricked with emotion that she forced away as she stared the screen down.

It wasn't as though she should even be this upset, she told herself, she had known the whole time that Tori had a boyfriend. She had known their relationship spanned years, whereas she only knew Tori for a handful of months. Jade had known that nothing would happen between them, but this was still a knife in her stomach. The movie couldn't end quickly enough for her, and she stretched her legs, simply telling Tori to have a goodnight before she started out with Cat, ignoring the response she was given.

Because fate was cruel, they somehow came across the couple in the parking lot (likely because Cat has the bladder of a small child and had to wait before she could even get into the bathroom). Jade glanced over without even meaning to, and instantly regretted it. She wasn't greeted with the chaste kisses couples shared to pretend there was still something between them. Instead, Jade was faced with the long, languid kiss of a couple in love, with Tori's back against the car door, and a grin on the boy's face.

Cat had to repeat her invitation to come over for a night of pizza and a movie marathon three or four times before Jade finally comprehended it over the roar of her own thoughts and the blood in her ears. She only shook her head, silent the whole drive to Cat's house. The redhead knew better than to try and badger her to speak, and just kept the car stereo full of songs Jade liked. She watched Jade's speed out of the corner of her eye, a bit worried but having enough faith in her not to reprimand her for speeding a little.

"You know you can call or text me if you want to talk later," Cat broke the silence only when they were outside her house.

"Yeah. Thanks, Cat, night," Jade's voice was quiet, and she waited until the door was closed to drive away. What bothered her the most was how strongly this was affecting her. She avoided going home, the silence of the large house would only amplify the volume of her thoughts. Aimless driving turned into a trip that ended outside of a familiar RV, and before she really knew what she was doing, Jade turned off the car and stepped outside. The night brought cooler air, and she waited out in it as she knocked on the door.

Beck didn't bother hiding his surprise when he answered the door and found her outside. "Jade. Everything alright? I'm not complaining, but you usually give me a head's up before you drop by."

Jade's fingers splayed out on his chest, pushing him inside without too much force really behind it, following him in and closing the door. She was silent as she took in the familiar furniture and clutter, slowly making her way to the bed that doubled as his couch. Beck brought her a bottle from the fridge, and he opened his own can of beer, wisely waiting until she was ready to open up despite his concerns for her.

"What made you realize that you had feelings for me? That separated me from other girls you liked?" Jade's voice sounded strange, even to her own ears, and she took a slow sip of the wine cooler, the bitterness catching in the back of her throat even as the fruit fooled her tongue.

"I don't know exactly what it was. I started looking forward to seeing you, I actually wanted to. I couldn't get you out of my mind and made a damn fool of myself just to make you laugh. I just knew, I guess. It's not something I can explain," he looked to her, giving her a nudge so she finally met his eyes with the storm brewing in her gaze. "I know you enjoy the ego boost from time to time, but what brought this up?"

Jade looked away, down to the bottle in her hand, and tried to steady her voice, "I think I have feelings for someone. I really like her, and it feels like I'm in high school again trying to figure out how to get someone's attention even though they already flirt with me."

"What's wrong with that? You're gorgeous and talented, and she seems to at least be interested in you," Beck shrugged, confused by the seeming lack of issue here. He knew that Jade had kissed a few girls and had some small crushes here and there, so there wasn't much surprise. Despite having dated the young woman beside him for a few years, nothing could have prepared him for the impact of her body hitting his own and knocking the breath out of him.

"She has a boyfriend," the words were small, spoken into the collar of his open button-up shirt. "She has a fucking boyfriend and she says that they aren't going anywhere and makes it sound like she doesn't even want to be with him." She closed her eyes tightly against the wetness escaping, her lips trembling as she took a slow breath. "She acts like he's such a jackass but when she kisses him they're a couple in love and it fucking _hurts_ and I don't know why."

Beck could only wrap his arms around his ex-girlfriend, holding her a bit tightly and rubbing her back to soothe the shaking of her body. He was still surprised by the display of emotion from the usually stoic girl, and honestly, he didn't know what advice to give her. So he simply held her and let her cry, the soft sounds breaking his heart even though his love for Jade had turned to close friendship by now. He glanced up when the bathroom door opened, revealing a slightly damp and confused Andre.

"Hey Jade, good to see you again. What's wrong, girl?" Andre's voice was soft, careful not to jab at the sleeping tiger.

Jade felt the bed dip a little as he sat down by them, his hand on the small of her back. She couldn't bring herself to answer him, choking back too much emotion while her throat already felt closed. Her hands shook slightly where her fingers grasped Beck's shirt, and a small part of her mind wailed that it just wasn't _fair_. She felt Beck give her a careful squeeze and he shifted slightly.

"Jade I'm really sorry but I've needed the bathroom since before Andre was showering. I'll be right back, okay?" his voice was soft and she compliantly released him, tugging her sleeves over her thumbs to wipe her eyes.

As Beck excused himself and practically dashed to the bathroom, Andre gave her a soft smile, stealing a sip of her wine cooler. "Come on, talk to 'Dre."

Despite herself, Jade barked out a chuckle at that, embarrassed of the tears still rolling down her cheeks, "I didn't know you were here."

"I stopped by to have him try a new game. I think you'd like it too," he reached over to pick up one of the controllers and start the game back up. "Are you okay though?"

She could only shake her head, wiping her eyes again already as she searched for the words to describe this whole mess. "Life is shit and I really like her but putting someone through this shit isn't worth it anyway."

Andre studied her as he moved to lean his back against the wall, "There's no reason you shouldn't be happy. And I know how this sounds, but you know Beck and I smoke occasionally, you could always join us. It really does help with the depression."

"She has a boyfriend," Jade murmured, tucking herself up against him, "she has for years and it just…" She trailed off with a sigh. "It shouldn't hurt like this; I hardly even know her."

"Love never makes sense," Andre rested an arm around her as she half-laid on him, working out a position they could both access the controllers from. "If it's meant to be, it'll work out. You're pretty enough to make her question her sexuality, even when you have raccoon eyes."

By the time Jade left, the roads were deserted and Cat was long asleep. She drove home and curled herself up in bed, turning Netflix on and closing her tired eyes. The guys were sweet, and they had been understanding and comforting but that hadn't changed the matter of what happened. Her eyes felt too tired to cry again, but the tears came anyway and she hated it. She hated how weak and pathetic this girl made her. She debated calling Cat but just kept to herself, alone in her father's house until the tears exhausted her to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

When Jade slunk into work the following afternoon, her gaze swept the carpeting as she ignored the familiar greeting from Tori altogether in favor of hunting down management. With a lot of restraint from using choice words, she demanding to be placed in the department she was hired for, welcoming the distraction. As usual, however, she was left with a less-than-satisfactory answer, again told it was happening soon. She again wrote down her shirt size for them to order one for her, and slunk off.

Ignoring Tori wasn't quite as hard as she had expected before coming into the store. The difficult part was when Tori would catch her eye and her lips would nearly twitch into a smile. Jade learned soon enough that the easiest thing to do was look away or busy herself with another task. Internally, it was almost painful to be at work, let alone stuck with Tori as one of the only people who had shown up for their shifts.

"Jade, there's pizza in the back for everyone," Tori's voice pulled her from her study of the items on a shelf.

She didn't even look to the other girl, "I don't need their handouts, I'm sure whatever they bought they scraped off the road behind the shittiest place they can find." The familiar giggle that earned infuriated her, making her actually bite her tongue and close her eyes for a long moment to collect herself.

"It's actually really good," Tori offered a smile that Jade caught out of the corner of her eye when she opened them again.

"Like your taste in guys, right?" Jade rolled her eyes and slunk off to find something else to do.

Tori was left to stand in the now empty isle, confused by the sudden uncalled for comment. A frown tugged at her lips, and she tried to shrug it off, taking it as nothing more than Jade having a bad day as she walked back to her own department. As she took a seat behind her computer to check for new orders, her phone caught her eye, blinking with a new message. Absently, she opened it as she refreshed the page on the computer, picking her phone up as she saw her boyfriend's name.

A soft groan slipped, and she set the phone in a drawer without responding to the text. Just last night, Robbie had tried to be sweet and showed up at the movies to spend some extra time with her, and today he was already back to taking advantage of all the small things she did for him and getting short with her. He'd use work as an excuse, and that thought only reminded her of the cold treatment she was getting at her own workplace. She bit her lip as she refreshed the webpage again, trying not to look too much into why Jade was ignoring her today. Part of her mind wouldn't let it go however, pointing out that Jade chose a pretty bad day for it if Robbie was being rude again. Besides, they had just hung out last night, and the movie was pretty good, so, what was the issue?

What really stung was the difference from yesterday, having fun fooling around in the arcade and just enjoying the evening, to today's remarks. The comments didn't stop with that one, however, Tori found that each time she tried to even make light conversation with Jade, when the girl didn't ignore her, a sharp comment was thrown at her without missing a beat. Tori tried not to let it bother her, because, why should it? Unfortunately for her, the coldness affected her far more than it reasonably should have, and it actually made her feel lower than Robbie's attitude had prior.

Looking for some kind of distraction, she sent him a text saying she wasn't having a great day either and even gave some explanation as to the source of her distress. It wasn't until she was getting into her car at the end of the shift, however, that she finally got a reply.

_'Who cares? She's obviously just a bitch.'_

Tori sighed and just headed home, deciding to spend the night there instead of going over.


	6. Chapter 6

Jade kept up the snarky comments for a good four or five days before the transfer gave her a distraction from her grudge against the other girl during work hours. Finally, nagging every manager had paid off and she was slotted in the section of the store she had been hired for. The occasional text had come from Tori, but nothing that she felt compelled to reply to, brushing it off as just being busy. The back of her mind nagged and fussed over the fact that Tori was still trying, perhaps not very hard, but trying none the less, to stay in contact with her.

After three days of training in her new department, Jade found herself finally cornered by the shorter girl. She'd been leaning back against the counter in the empty break room when Tori purposefully strode in, Jade's eyes tempted by the sway of her hips. Jade rolled her eyes slightly at the smirk the girl was wearing, only for her breath to catch in her throat when a hand was placed on either side of her hips and Tori leaned close, not touching at all, but wearing that stupid, infectious smile that made the corners of Jade's mouth curl slightly.

"What are you doing tomorrow? Schedule says we both have it off."

"Sleeping, why?" Jade arched an eyebrow, leaning back a little because her skin was tingling from the close proximity and despite how much hurt this damn girl had caused in the span of one night, her pulse was speeding up at the question.

"Come by for dinner. You mentioned you don't have anyone home to eat with, and I always have a full house and my mom is a great cook," Tori seemed very pleased with herself for this idea, and Jade studied her silently. "Come on, you've been mad at me all week, at least try to come by and we can watch a movie you pick on Netflix."

Jade scoffed, fighting a smirk, "How generous of you to allow me to pick on my own Netflix account."

Tori giggled a little at that, "Come by around five, unless you need me to pick you up."

"I can manage. I'm particularly enjoying that you're just assuming I don't have allergies and won't die tomorrow."

"Oh, shit. Do you have allergies?"

"No, but that's not the point," Jade smirked, and now it was Tori who rolled her eyes as she tried not to chuckle, finally stepping back and leaving the breakroom.

Jade lingered in the again empty room, head heavy with the smell of Tori's perfume lingering around her. Silently, she questioned why she had agreed to such thing, sending Cat a confused text about it before finishing her coffee and heading out to return to work. Why was the girl so concerned with if she was mad at her, especially to the extent of inviting her to dinner? To a _family_ dinner, nonetheless. Jade didn't particularly want to deal with the gargoyle she had run into last time, though at least it could provide a source of amusement. The nagging thought at the back of her mind was more Tori's parents. Adults, especially those past their twenties, were more intuitive than others, they might actually be smart enough to pick up on her not as subtle as she liked to think behavior towards their daughter. Internally, that made her cringe as she filed a new order in the store's system.

Tori seemed far too pleased with herself for the rest of the day after that, especially when Jade even began to begrudgingly acknowledge her. Her cheerful greetings and passing comments were increasingly beginning to earn a few more words from the girl each time, and she tried not to look too pleased over the victory, though Jade had no trouble at all seeing it. Closing time couldn't come soon enough, and a few of their coworkers took notice of Tori's lighthearted pestering of her, but Jade ignored them as she headed out once the lights went off.

Jade's night at home consisted of her lying in bed while Cat tried to get as much information as possible out of her, the phone on speaker beside her.

"Cat, I've told you everything. That's literally all that happened, she cornered me out of the blue and asked me to have dinner with her family." Jade closed her eyes and tried to relax.

"But why? You've been rude to her all week," Cat sounded confused. "Isn't this the part where she's supposed to decide you'll come around and leave you alone?"

"Apparently not. That's what she's _supposed_ to do, but, clearly she isn't going to follow the rules."

"Are you going to go?"

"I don't think I have a choice, she'll probably just come get me if I don't show up," Jade sighed, trying to frown at the idea.

"You don't exactly sound opposed to it," Cat giggled. "I'm glad you're going, maybe it's a sign that things are going to change for you in regards to her."

"Yeah, like maybe her parents will inform her that I want her," Jade snorted.

"Well, at least then she can't pretend to be clueless about it."

Sunlight filtered through the gap of thick, dark curtains, just enough light to earn a grumble from the lump under blankets until Jade finally stretched out and opened her eyes to survey the offending sunlight. A low groan dragged from her throat as she checked the time and slowly left her nest for a shower, having a couple hours before she needed to leave and go discovered what horrors awaited her today. The water was hot and her thoughts mostly tame, carefully setting very low expectations for this whole affair as apprehension clawed at her stomach like some caged beast trying to dig to freedom.

Jade lingered under the water, the house silent save for the sound of the water, and contemplated the date for a good few moments before being satisfied that she had another week or so before the owner of the house was due to return, though something always came up and he would just remind her to make sure that the bills were paid. Those phone calls were pointless, the important bills were all set to be directly taken from one of his accounts, and she was left with the nagging wonder of why he even kept the house he never lived in. The reality of it was so that he could impress his current girlfriend with the size of it and promises of luxury, maybe the delusion of having a family in it.

Jade scoffed at the idea and turned the water off, drying herself and slinking back to bed to spend a few more hours there before she needed to truly begin getting ready for this event she had been roped into. Maybe it wouldn't be terrible, but, if the boy showed up, she was done altogether with this girl. She had intended to nap, but that soon turned into watching a few episodes on Netflix before realizing she had significantly less time to get ready than planned when two episodes led to three more.

Jade kept things simple for the most part, really the most time consuming bit was fighting with her makeup because her hands shook slightly but enough to mess up most of her attempts. Perhaps because she was dreading having to start the drive over, time seemed to fly, and before long, she was forcing herself out to the car. Sitting inside, she sent her soon-to-be hostess a text, procrastinating starting the car.

'So I suppose I should leave now. What are we even having?' After pressing send, it took a good few minutes of playing with the car radio to get a response.

_'Yes you should. And my parents are making their homemade pizza, it's really good. They're trying a few other things too, though. It's okay, if they like you enough maybe they'll have you come over for a more "traditional" dinner though. :p With potatoes and a vegetable and everything.'_

'I suppose we'll find out.' Jade frowned and tossed her phone into the passenger seat, finally starting the car and her drive. Getting to Tori's house didn't take nearly long enough, only perhaps fifteen minutes if there were other cars on the road, but she had decided to get their early to offer assistance with the meal since they were letting a stranger into their home and she was sure that Robbie was completely useless when he was there. May as well show them that _someone_ could be helpful without living there.

Jade parked her car on the side of the road near the opening of the driveway. She killed a good five more minutes sitting inside of it before she slowly stepped out and wandered to the front door, now knocking without hesitation. Luckily, it was Tori who answered the door, and grinned at her as she stepped aside to let her in.

"You came, I was almost worried that I would have to come drag you out of your house," Tori teased as she closed the door.

"You don't have the dedication," Jade scoffed, shaking her head and taking in the house now that its occupants were in it. She didn't see the elder Vega anywhere, and she heard laughter in the kitchen. Her observations were cut short, however, by another occupant of the house. A large German Shepherd padded right up to her, studying her with calm dark eyes and smelling her.

"This is Hopi, my dad's retired partner. He's a cop, but she couldn't be his police dog anymore but she still obeys the training as if she is most of the time."

"Interesting name," Jade let the dog smell her before crouching down to scratch her soft ears.

"My grandmother chose it. She insisted it meant 'warrior who sings'. She was a noisy pup before training," Tori offered a smile. "My mom talked my dad into breeding her though because she's still healthy and everything, so the puppies will probably ambush you soon."

Jade was well aware of eyes on her as she fussed over the dog in front of her, scratching behind her ears and murmuring to her. She scrunched up her face when the dog in front of her licked it, soaking up the attention she was receiving. Before she knew what was happening, Jade found herself surrounded by smaller furballs trying to smell her and play with the stranger.

Tori smiled to herself softly as she watched Jade kneel, a puppy trying to climb into her lap, and her heart melted a little as she watched the other girl fawn over them. The girl who had ignored her for a good week, was now allowing two puppies to try using her as a chew toy, one tugging at her sleeve and the other nipping at her hand playfully. There was something almost endearing about watching the girl interact with them, turned from a somewhat intimidating young woman into a pile of sweetness. She laughed softly as she watched Jade let a puppy that jumped on her think that it knocked her over, falling onto her back a little dramatically and soon getting covered by them all.

"Aww they like you," she sat on the couch, calling Hopi over to her to relax and take a break from watching her offspring.

"I noticed," Jade slowly sat back up, petting the pup that stayed in her lap and playing with the others as her tension completely dissolved away, and it wasn't until an unfamiliar voice startled her that she was pulled from the peaceful distraction and back into reality.

"Looks like you've hit it off well if Hopi is trusting you with her puppies already," a man who had Tori's smile looked down at her, extending his hand. "I'm David, you must be Jade."

"Nice to meet you," Jade shook his hand, "Do they have names?"

"Yes but only one is truly set in stone for now. The others are names that their new owners can keep or replace when they're adopted. The girls mostly named them, there's Pepper, Accalia, Bandit, Mel, and in your lap is Sparkles. Mel is probably going to be trained to take her mother's place as a police dog." He picked up the pup in question, fawning over her for a few moments. "Can I get you a drink?"

Jade nodded at the information, gently scratching the puppy in her lap, "Coffee would be lovely. Is there anything I can help with?"

"You're our guest, just keep the children amused and out from under Holly's feet," he chuckled and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Your father seems nice," Jade commented softly, glancing down at the drowsy puppy in her lap in time for a yawn.

"He is. Things get a bit tense sometimes, but, he's a great guy," Tori's voice was equally soft, and she stole a picture of the girl with the puppy before standing, "Come on, help me set the table up before Trina comes down and you two get a chance to get into it." She sounded almost amused by the idea, and what really killed her was how cute it was to watch Jade gently move the sleepy pup to the couch before standing up and following her into the kitchen.

David met them inside, offering Jade her mug of coffee, "I see Tori's putting you to work already. She can't be as gracious of a host as I am," he teased his daughter before heading back over to his wife.

Tori playfully stuck her tongue out in response, earning a comment from Jade about her maturity, and lightly swatting her before introducing her to her mother, "Mom, this is Jade. We work together."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Holly," a quick smile was offered before the woman was back to whatever she was slicing on the cutting board. Jade simply returned the sentiment and sipped the coffee, humming her approval as Tori dragged her across the kitchen to the cabinets.

Reluctantly, Jade set her coffee down in favor of taking the plates and setting them in front of each chair around the table, Tori following behind her with the silverware and napkins. Jade remained mostly quiet until the other member of the Vega family wandered downstairs.

"Did you manage to figure out how to knock this time?" Trina smirked at their guest as she took a drink from the fridge.

Without missing a beat or looking at her, Jade hid a smirk, "I thought gargoyles belonged in the attic." She could tell that comment effectively cut off the parents rebuking their eldest for being rude, instead seeming somewhat amused while Tori openly laughed.

"Then why are they feeding you down here?" Trina leaned against the fridge, accepting this challenge.

Jade grinned, crossing her arms as she leaned against the table, lowering her voice so that Trina had to step closer to hear her, "Now now, play nice. Tori said the bitch had pups but the hormones shouldn't be affecting you anymore."

_That_ earned a sharp gasp from the older girl, and Tori's mother glanced over at them, "What was that, darling?"

Tori immediately interjected, "Nothing. Jade, come on, I need to show you something." She all but dragged a rather smug Jade out of the room before her sister could truly respond to that. Once they were back in the living room, close to the stairs, she gave Jade a wide-eyed stare, "What is wrong with you?"

"She started it!" Jade protested hotly.

"I don't know if you two are going to try and kill each other or if you just became best friends. Damn, Jade," Tori shook her head, trying hard to look serious but Jade could tell she was rather amused by it all. "We're going to be eating soon, _try_ to behave."

"If she sasses me, I'm going to sass her back."

"Just keep it tamer than that in front of my parents."

The meal itself went smoothly, Jade politely complimenting the delicious food while Trina stared her down, making it very clear that this was not yet over, but Jade caught the occasional hint of a smirk.

"So, what's so special about you that Tori invited you over for a family dinner? It took her months to decide to bring her boyfriend around for that," Trina idly fished for ammunition for their battle with small talk.

"Well, I mean, it's pretty clear I outrank him, so," Jade lifted a shoulder as she took another bite, eyes locked on the older Vega sister.

"It's hard not to, but she hasn't brought her other coworkers around," Trina snorted.

"Why so interested? I didn't expect you to be so eager to get to know me," Jade winked with a smirk.

"Don't flatter yourself, you're hardly my type. Besides, there's not much to see to you besides your attitude, which I wouldn't call impressive," Trina eyed her, tone almost too serious.

"Trina, cool it," Tori sighed, "that's a bit far, just because she can dish out the sass as well as you and escalated it before you got the chance."

"If you want to see what I'm capable of, just watch me," Jade didn't even look at Tori, eyes locked on Trina almost in challenge, each word spoken in grave seriousness. The fact that Tori spoke against her sister left her conflicted. On one hand, it warmed her slightly that Tori was taking her side, yet on the other, she didn't need this girl to fight her battles for her. When she looked up again, she found the girls' mother giving her and Trina a stern look.

"Settle down, both of you apologize so we can all move on with our lives past the little spat you've had," she didn't leave much room for argument.

Trina sighed deeply, as if knowing she was expected to go first, and broke eye contact to check her phone and focus on her food. "I'm sorry, I suppose that was rude." It didn't sound entirely sincere, but it was good enough to not get too much annoyance from her mother.

Jade was inwardly bristling at how uncomfortable this had suddenly gotten. Her voice was just above a mutter, "Yeah, sorry I took it a bit far." It was certainly an experience, this night, and the sun wasn't even down yet. Something about a parent interfering seemed to put Jade in her place, and she generally avoided conversation, which wasn't too hard as Trina was asked about college and David about the happenings around town and his job.

Once the meal was over, which had gone quickly from amusing to agonizingly long, Jade offered to help with dishes, but was shooed off with Tori, who seemed to pick up on her mood and took her upstairs for the promised movie. She fixed the blankets on her bed, smoothing them out and tidying the pillows a little as she offered up the game controller.

"You alright? Sorry if they made you uncomfortable, they just get irritated when there's too much sass in a room," Tori seemed tentative to ask as she turned the television on.

"It's just strange going from no parents to kind of tell you to cut the shit, to someone else's parent telling you it," Jade shrugged, sitting on the floor and stretching her legs out, leaning her back against the bed.

"Oh… Well, if it makes you feel better, they still seem to like you," Tori offered, getting no response from Jade as the other girl brought Netflix up and dug up a horror movie.

The whole experience left Jade still feeling a bit weird, her skin still burning and she debated just going home early as she blankly stared at the movie's summary. Not wanting to go back downstairs and face either of the actual adults, she decided to stay put and just press play. Obviously the other party in this matter wasn't nearly as affected by the scolding as she was, she was probably just making too big a deal of it. The movie hadn't gotten too far when she heard the soft jingle of metal hitting metal. Expecting it to just be Trina passing through the hall, she kept her gaze on the television, only to find a furry head in her face a few moments later. Hopi's muzzle pressed at her chest and the dog sat beside her, letting Jade pet her. Jade scooted a little closer to the dog, running her fingers through soft fur and occasionally scratching behind her ears or gently playing with them.

As the movie played, the sounds didn't seem to faze her canine companion at all, who was now lying beside Jade and using her lap as a headrest while Jade pet her from time to time. Tori made the occasional comment about the movie, making Jade only hum in response until Tori actually jumped when something scared her, making the pale girl laugh. She turned her gaze to Tori, amused by the reaction something so cheesy and predictable had garnered.

"Don't give me that look. If I died from a heart attack, you'd be a widow right now," Tori half-pouted.

"You're fine and will live to be startled another day," Jade responded as she turned back to the screen. Seeing Tori sprawled out on the bed reminded her of last time she had come over, and she didn't wish to dwell on those memories. Instead, she focused on the movie, a new quiet settling over her, and she barely felt a lick on her hand. She leaned down and kissed between those soft ears before leaning back once more.

Jade didn't spend the night again, avoiding any possibility of that, but she did run into Trina on her way out, who only gave her a brief nod in passing. She said her goodbyes to the Vega parents, thanking them for having her over and politely accepting a future invitation with an indefinite date. The drive home was silent, her thoughts drowning out the music, and she didn't really remember the whole drive once she got home. While she undressed and took off her makeup, generally following some semblance of getting ready for bed, she sent a simple text to Tori that said the dinner was nice, even adding a thanks for inviting her.

_'I'm glad you liked it! You seemed to hit it off pretty well with everyone. :) Thanks for coming, I'm glad we got to do something. You should come over again.'_

'Maybe I will. The dog is too sweet not to visit again. And her puppies are kind of cute.'

_'Should I be offended you're more excited to hang out with Hopi again than me? :p She seems to like you. She has some therapy dog training in her from back when she was being trained as my dad's canine partner.'_

'That's pretty cool. She probably only likes me because she thinks I'm unstable and stressed out.'

_'Nah. I have work tomorrow, and a good meal leaves me really sleepy haha. I'm going to try and sleep, goodnight.'_


	7. Chapter 7

Jade reclined in the passenger seat a little and closed her eyes, rolling the window down to allow fresh air into the car as the music was turned up to compensate for the noise of the wind. Cat had just asked to take over on driving, and Jade obliged so that she could simply relax and enjoy the ride. One of the boys passed her a bottle of soda from the backseat, and she laughed when she heard their voices go higher in pitch to try and mock the radio. The moon was huge above them, the sky clear and stars shone where there wasn't artificial light to block them out.

Jade didn't pay much mind to where Cat was driving, turned in her seat a bit to peer into the back as she listened to Andre tell a story. She didn't even question much when she felt the car come to a stop, assuming Cat just needed a restroom or found somewhere to get snacks.

"Jade, get back in the driver's seat?" When Jade turned to Cat curiously, she saw the redhead getting out of the car and opening one of the back doors, Beck getting out to let her in, looking nowhere as confused as Jade was. Slowly, Jade opened her door, stepping out only to find herself face to face with Tori, who gave her a grin.

"Thanks for inviting me along, I love drives on nights like this," Tori stepped around Jade to go into the back, but upon finding the backseat full, tentatively opened the front door. Jade turned her gaze to Cat, giving her a brief glare on her walk around the car to get back inside. This /had/ been a fun night, but she wasn't sure how she felt about Tori joining them. Let alone how she felt about Cat being the one to invite her. It was one thing if Cat invited her around when it was just the two of them, but they were still in the process of trying to make hanging out with the guys a regular thing again and Jade didn't want to throw so many people into such a small space together so soon.

Jade also didn't particularly want to drive, but she suffered silently through it as she pulled the car away, feeling eyes on her from their newest guest, "Yes?"

"Are your hands cold?" Tori asked, feigning innocence.

Jade's brow furrowed, the question puzzling her. "Not really, if anything maybe the one that was holding the soda is," A small shrug was offered, and she turned her focus back to the road as she drove.

"That's a shame. Mine are," before Jade could question it, Tori reached over and rested a hand on her knee, making the pale girl's cheeks warm. Tori watched her, not sure if she minded this, and when Jade reached over to fix the volume of the radio, Tori caught her hand before it could be pulled away. She interlocked their fingers, resting their hands on the armrest between them.

In the backseat, between the two boys, Cat fought off the need to comment on how adorable that was, instead settling on taking a picture of their hands.

Andre, however, was not so silent, "Damn, girl, that was smooth." The remark made Tori laugh, turning her head back to introduce herself to them.

Jade listened to them all talk, slowly relaxing as she just focused on the road. A smile tugged at her lips, and it didn't help that every now and again, Tori would give her hand a little squeeze. She turned down a back road, and when conversation died down, Beck reached up and turned the music up so loud Jade could hardly hear her thoughts but the wind was roaring and whipping through the car and voices were screaming with the radio and it felt like liquid bliss was in her veins.

The road was winding, but Jade maintained a safe enough speed to take each turn, and Tori reached up to open the sunroof when she found the button. The light of the full moon spilled into the car, and Jade could just barely make out Tori's voice among the others and the music. She kept her hand in Tori's as she guided them down the road for a good half hour, high off of the feeling that a long drive with loud music on a nice night can offer. When she slowed the car to a stop, they were outside of a large, elegant gate. The spikes at the top of the gate stretched towards the stars, and beyond the gate there were countless graves and a large, fancy-looking house.

"Who lives here?" Tori turned the music down to ask, awe in her voice.

"We don't know," Andre shook his head, "we just found it one night while we were driving aimlessly."

"it's amazing though," Jade murmured, very much able to remember the night they had stumbled across the majestic home before them.

"Kind of creepy though. Who keeps a graveyard in front of their house?" Tori looked out at it, taking in the almost eerie silence that had taken over the car, curious to what everyone was thinking as they looked out at the house. Before she could really ask, Jade was pulling the car away and they were on their way to sit and get some snacks.

It was when they were filing out of the parked car and heading inside the building that the first message from Robbie came, yet again complaining that he had a shitty day at work and was getting in the shower. Tori simply asked what happened at work and put her phone away in her pocket as she followed Cat inside, thanking her for holding the door for her. She looked around, finding a few rows of snack foods and coolers of drinks, but also counters with screens to place orders for freshly made food.

In the bathroom, Cat waited at the sink for Jade, giving her a smile when she appeared out of the stall and washed her hands. "So how are you enjoying the night?"

Jade lifted a shoulder, smiling despite herself, "You know I love these drives."

"And the handholding?" Cat grinned at her, nudging her playfully.

"Is also nice," Jade admitted after a moment, leading Cat back out and walking over to their little group as they were ordering food. Jade let Cat start ordering, wandering a little to contemplate what she wanted for the rest of their adventure. Finding nothing that appealed to her, she circled back and found a free screen to use while the others paid for their food, and thankfully the worst part of it all was waiting for the food to be prepared for them. While it took longer than they would have liked, the food was still finished before horribly long, and their group of five migrated outside to a table to sit down and eat

A comfortable silence settled in for the first few minutes while everyone sorted out the food and took a few bites to take the edge off of their appetites. Before too long, however, the small talk set in, and Andre was asking questions to try and get to better know the girl Jade was so hung up over. Leaving them to their talk, Beck turned to Cat, asking about her new job.

"I really like it! Vanessa is super nice and she's already taught me a lot about the world of tattooing," Cat perked up even more at this topic, stealing one of Jade's mozzarella sticks.

"That's great. When will you be starting to tattoo real victims?" Andre glanced over at her, not missing the mention of Cat's progress.

"I'll let you guys know when I do," Cat giggled, showing a few pictures of what she had been working with the past week or so, and between glancing down at Cat's phone and eating, Jade caught a few glimpses of the other girl across from them. Unlike everyone else, Tori didn't quite seem happy , rather she was frowning down at her phone.

Tori's appetite diminished rapidly, but she tried to force down another bite of her sandwich as she studied the text that she'd just received.

_'God Tori stop asking such stupid fucking questions.'_

Long moments passed before Tori finally picked her phone back up and typed out a reply before turning her attention to Cat, trying not to show how upset she was.

'You know what, Robbie. This isn't working, I'm done.'


	8. Chapter 8

Jade's fingers idly combed through thick hair, Tori sprawled across the couch with her head in her pale girl had offered up her home to try cheering up her coworker, knowing that despite her indifferent attitude, she was at least a little affected by brown-eyed girl had been more focused on the television than Jade for the past half hour or so, and Jade wasn't really complaining as she simply settled for enjoying the girl had questioned the possibility of another long drive, but they were unable to recruit others to join them and neither girl seemed eager to just go with the two of them, so it had turned into a quiet evening of watching television with the shorter girl occasionally ranting.

"Are you hungry or anything?" Jade finally spoke up during a commercial break, fingers stilling in Tori's hair and resting against the nape of her neck, mails gently tickling the soft skin there.

"A little," Tori turned to look up at her, her gaze all but pinning Jade in place."Can we order delivery or something?"

"Whatever you're in the mood for," Jade lifted a shoulder, trying to sound casual as her nails continued to play on the sensitive skin, a smirk coming to her lips when she saw the other girl shiver with action earned her a playful smack, and Jade chuckled and nudged her to get up so she could stand and felt Tori's eyes on her as she slowly stretched out, rolling her shoulders to try and chase away the stiffness before she stalked off to the kitchen.

Tori followed, reading from the menu she had on her phone screen as Jade poured them each a glass of wine, then boosted herself onto the only half-listened to the menu, not all that hungry as Tori went through its entirety for her, along with what she was contemplating ordering.

" , that sounds fine," Jade murmured as she took a sip of wine.

"Aw, how sweet, you even poured me a glass," Tori picked up the other, grinning innocently before taking a tentative sip to sample the wine.

"Well," Jade's leg lazily hooked on the other girl's hip, pulling her closer until Tori's hips were nearly touching the counter, "I mean, anything for are my wife, after all, or so says the workplace."An almost playful smirk quirked at her lips, both legs comfortably wrapping around Tori's words made Tori laugh, but she didn't pull away, meeting Jade's gaze and holding it.

"What?" Tori's voice was soft when she finally spoke after long moments of their eye contact.

" your food," Jade took another sip from her glass, not releasing Tori just yet, and, much to her silent delight, the girl leaned into her, elbows resting softly on her thighs as she focused on her phone.

The pair had stayed like that until the food arrived, Jade silently releasing her companion before sliding off the counter, refilling their glasses while Tori handled the food and brought it returned to the couch to eat, spreading their pizza and assorted other food out on the coffee table, and they settled comfortably into the couch, Jade's legs resting over Tori's lap as she lounged and picked at the food, more interested in the show on than it.A comfortable silence settled over them, Tori occasionally nagging Jade to have some of the food until she finally gave in and took a slice of took her sweet time eating it, aware it mildly irked the other girl, and she basked in her unofficial the end, it turned out that Tori really hadn't been as hungry as she initially thought, and she groaned and leaned against Jade.

"I'm bored," she announced unceremoniously.

"And what do you want to do?" Jade arched an eyebrow at her, earning only an exaggerated sigh.

"I don't just annoys me because everyone is indecisive or boring and it's just stressful and," she trailed off with a sound of disgust.

"We can start by watching something else," Jade commented, knowing this would lead to complaining for a while if nothing was done."What has you so wound up?"

"It's just… It's been a while since I've been able to blow off some steam and it's getting to me I guess," Tori offered a slight shrug.

"Anything I can do?" Jade studied her, moderately intrigued.

"Actually…" Tori's cheeks seemed to flush a little.

Jade's mind was swimming as Tori's body pressed her own firmly into the wall, their lips reconnecting roughly as the taller girl firmly gripped the tan hips rolling into her own. The suggestion, or proposition, whatever it may be considered, was sudden, but Jade had ultimately agreed quickly. However, with Tori's lips on hers and her own thumbs rolling against Tori's hip bones, she was beginning to think that perhaps this was not going to get her over this silly crush after all.

"You're sure?" The words were breathed against her ear, sending shivers down her spine, and for a moment she could only nod, teeth grazing Tori's neck before her tongue soothed the tender skin. For a moment, Tori pressed her more firmly to the wall before fingers were slipping under her shirt and guiding the offending garment up and over her head. Jade's fingers slid along her bedroom wall, turning the light off as she walked Tori backwards towards the bed, the pair parting as Tori pulled her own shirt off, moving over to her bag.

The faint glow of the television cast their shadows on the walls of the room, and Jade eased her pants down, gaze finding Tori again. The other girl was standing back up, holding something from her bag behind her back. Without giving up her surprise just yet, Tori guided the owner of the room onto the bed, their lips connecting again as Tori found that unlatching another girl's bra was far easier than she'd been led to believe. Jade's back arched, pushing her into Tori's hands as one of her own hands tangled in the brunette's hair, tugging lightly but insistently to expose the tan throat. Slowly, her tongue traced the column of her throat, teeth pressing into the delicate skin with a smirk at the shaky moan escaping Tori.

"Close your eyes," Tori murmured, pulling away slowly. Warily, Jade obeyed, eyes closing as her mind wandered. Her fingertips were cold against the sheets, and part of her expected this entire thing to be some staged thing or expected a camera, and the distrust nagged at her mind, made her question the feelings that had been chewing away at her all these months. She jumped slightly at the warm touch on her hips, opening her eyes as fingers guided away dark panties. Her gaze wandered Tori's faintly illuminated form, taking in her almost equally-naked body. What caught her eye, however, was the contrast of dark straps against her skin, curling around her hips. The harness effectively paused Jade's sappy thoughts on how goddamn beautiful this girl was, instead turning her focus to the strap on.

That made her pause. It was one thing to just assume this was going to be a quick roll in the sheets, but quite another to find that there would be toys involved. Really, it didn't make her want to back out, she wasn't that dedicated to the whole preservation of the virginity thing, but this was a bit…unexpected. Before she could really ponder too much, Tori's lips were on hers again, and the tan skin felt as though it were on fire.

"My only remark is that if this was something the two of you practiced, that _better_ be a different toy," Jade warned, earning a soft laugh.

"It is," Tori rolled the girl under her onto her stomach, teeth on Jade's shoulder earning a low sound of approval before she left the bed. Before Jade had the chance to investigate the absence, Tori's hands pressed into her hips as her tight grip found them, yanking the pale girl to the edge of the bed and earning a soft sound of surprise that made her giggle. Tori's nails slowly, almost experimentally dragged over the soft skin, taking in the evident appreciation the action received. Jade bit her lip, Tori's legs brushing against the back of her thighs, and it seemed the other girl was skipping any awkward words, fingertips teasing over her skin. Jade, however, needed this to move along, needed a lack of soft touches and sweet giggles. Her head turned, gaze catching Tori's for just a moment, but enough to take her attention.

"Are you blowing off steam or on your honeymoon?" Her tone was wrong. Maybe it was too taunting, "Come on, _dear_, you're supposed to be releasing that pent up aggression so you can relax." She was going to say more but her breath left in a hiss as Tori's hips moved forward, trying to sheathe the toy. Jades internal thoughts turned into a stream of swearing as she forced her muscles to relax. Tori's attempt hadn't gotten far, but had gotten far enough to silence Jade for now.

"Jesus you're fucking tight," Tori's fingers splayed over her hips, giving her a few moments before slowly easing back out to bury the toy in Jade once more.

"You aren't a teenage boy who just watched porn in preparation for this, don't start with the cheesy dialogue," Jade quipped, needing a distraction.

"You're so sassy today," Tori sounded more amused than offended. Her hand sharply met Jade's ass in teasing reprimand, amusement growing at the groan it elicited as Jade's hips rose. She couldn't resist another quick slap with the next thrust of her hips, not moving too fast just yet as her hand rested on the small of Jade's back, sliding down over her hip to dip between her legs.

Jade's fingers curled as fingertips danced across her clit, breathy swears slipping between the occasional moan as her nagging thoughts started to ebb away, "Just fuck me like you mean it, love," she smirked back at her, delight sparking as she felt nails press hard into her hip as her command was obeyed. Tori was driven by both the comments and the increasing moans leaving Jade, and her nails pressed harder, leaving little crescent moons to remember her by, her hips driving harder, pushing Jade deeper into the mattress each time her thighs met the back of Jade's. Since the girl was so clearly enjoying mixing pleasure and little sparks of pain, Tori tangled her fingers in long tresses, flicking her wrist back and guiding Jade's head with the motion. Her free hand rested beside Jade's head, holding her up as her lips and teeth found the sensitive neck bared to the air.

Jade was all but a writhing mess under her, the sensations overloading her system with Tori, her senses overloaded as the other girl's fingers found her clit again, chasing her to the edge. Tori's nails kissed a white hot trail down Jade's back as she bit down hard to leave her mark on that pale neck. Jade's hand glided over the sheets, blindly searching for Tori's. Once found, her hand wrapped around Tori's wrist where her hand once more held her up, giving a soft tug to show she wanted to move it. She felt Tori shift her balance and lift her hand without question. In a desperate distraction for any distraction, anything to taint this and remind her it wasn't meant to be some tender sweet thing, Jade guided Tori's hand to her throat, taking her own hand away once more. Tori's fingers curled around her throat, but didn't apply pressure yet, just held her in place as her hips rolled. It wasn't until the quietest whine left Jade that the girl felt Tori's grip tighten a bit, sending a wave of adrenaline through her. As the grip tightened enough to actually make it harder to breathe, Jade was hit mercilessly with the smell of Tori's perfume, the feeling of Tori's hips meeting her own skin over and over again. Drowning in Tori was what pushed her past the pinnacles of pleasure she'd been riding on, and the other girl must have known because just as Jade reached her peak, her ass was met with a smack that actually stung sharply.

Jade wasn't sure if a name had left her mouth, if it had just been a wordless howl, or something else, panting hard as she came back to herself slowly. Tori's hand was no longer on her throat, instead a hand was between her shoulder blades. Jade closed her eyes for a few long moments, trying to calm her breathing before she had to face Tori again. She noticed somewhere in the back of her mind that she was rather sore, no doubt thanks to the sizable toy. Which she noted was still inside her, leaving her with a somewhat physically full feeling as her mind's haze kept the fears of this night away. Slowly, she turned her head, leading Tori to step back and pull the toy out in the process. Jade's hooded eyes met Tori's in the darkness, narrowing at the grin that awaited her.

"Pretty great, huh?"

Jade rolled her eyes, smirking despite herself at how annoyingly adorable her companion was, even now. Instead, she motioned her close again with a finger, "Your turn now."

Tori almost seemed confused, but let Jade pull her onto the bed. Jade rid the girl of the harness, setting it aside to deal with later, before straddling her. She stole a kiss, the first that she had initiated, and tried not to linger on Tori's lips too long, tongue gliding sensually across Tori's before her lips dipped down to focus on her neck. In a move of selfishness, Jade sucked softly on her pulse point as her teeth worried the flesh. Distracting Tori from her intention, her fingers lightly tweaked hardening nipples, giving them a tug when she heard the little gasp that left Tori. Tori's back arched, body demanding more attention as Jade leisurely toyed with her, lips leaving her neck to skip down her chest and close around a nipple. Her tongue circled it as she pinched and ran her thumb across the other, delighting in the whimpers and little moans she was causing as Tori's hand found her hair.

Jade moved slowly, apprehensive as her lips pressed to a ribcage. Internally, she was trying to stay calm and remember glimpses she had seen here and there, be it in videos or other media, and far too soon her teeth were nipping at a hip bone and her hands were caressing tan thighs that spread further to accommodate her. She settled between Tori's legs, gaze flicking up to find Tori watching her, propped up slightly by pillows. Jade winked up at her, feeling thighs playfully squeeze around her as a stifled giggle left Tori. Jade squeezed soft thighs to stop her fingers from shaking, lips teasing just above Tori's clit, making the girl try to lift her hips to try and refocus Jade's attention. All it earned her, however, was Jade blowing cool air onto her clit, a whine leaving the defenseless girl.

"Jade…" The pitiful tone made Jade relent, her tongue ever so softly trailing up Tori's slit to circle her clit slowly, lips closing on it. Her arms wrapped around strong thighs as she sucked on Tori's clit, tongue gently lashing across it as she tested the girl and her body, mild pride taken in the little jerks Tori's hips gave. Jade relented for a moment, collecting the taste of Tori on her tongue again, teasing her tongue inside her before refocusing on the sensitive nerve bundle.

Tori's moans and soft sounds encouraged her, gradually coaxing her enough that her fingers teased her lips as her tongue went through the motions she remembered occasionally coming across online and glancing through. She tried letters and quick flutters of her tongue, working with what earned the best reactions as her fingers sank slowly into Tori's wet heat, and there was something addictive about being the one making Tori moan like this, make these sounds. Jade allowed herself to get wrapped up in it all, her tongue dancing across Tori's clit as she sucked harder on it, her fingers curling as they gradually picked up speed.

Tori's legs tightened around Jade as a fire started inside her, rapidly spreading and consuming her alive as her hips tried to work with Jade's fingers. Her fingers tangled in dark hair, holding Jade in place and pressing her closer as brown eyes closed. Her body arched, the pleasure and fire consuming her faster than she wanted to because it had been so long since this sort of pleasure shot through her and wrapped around her in waves of heat and passion. Her hips grew uncontrollable, giving Jade no other warning as her climax greeted her.

Jade's tongue traced lazy strokes and circles as her fingers slowed but kept pumping until Tori had ridden out her orgasm. She sat up, smirking slightly as she caught Tori's eyes and locked her fingers clean slowly. She was certain Tori was blushing as she pulled her down beside her, wiping some of her own juices off of Jade's chin. Jade nestled against the warm body, allowing Tori to pull the blankets over them. The worried part of her finally quieted as it sank in that Tori wasn't leaving yet, the shorter girl surprising her by wrapping her arm around her and drawing her closer, her body pressing against Jade's back softly. Tori's fingers glided down to interlock with Jade's before her eyes closed, saying nothing but snuggling in and welcoming sleep.


End file.
